All You Need is Love...Not Red Fluffy Barretes
by Vanilla Crystal
Summary: When a red, fluffy barrette goes bad...tragedy strikes...or does it? Comedy, drama, and romance are all mixed together for this METMA fic! R/R!


All You Need is Love…  
Not Red Fluffy Barrettes  
  
Lisa Turpin smiled, and turned off the light. It had been a good day for her. For starters, she got an "A" on her Transfiguration essay, which was hard to come by, and she had not spilled one drop of her Potion in Potions. Most importantly of all, she was sure that he had smiled at her. Seamus Finnigan, in Lisa's opinion, was the cutest boy in Gryffindor. Lisa had a crush on him, she was able to admit that, but she was unable to talk to him because they were in different houses, and she did not have enough courage. Oh, when will I ever have a conversation with Seamus? Lisa thought solemnly. She thought that Lavender Brown liked Seamus, but she was not sure if Seamus liked Lavender. It is just not fair; Lavender is a phony, empty headed, shallow girl. Lisa sighed, and rested her head on the pillow, promising to herself that tomorrow would be a better day.   
  
"EEK! Lisa! Wake up!" Mandy Brocklehurst screamed. Lisa awoke with a start, and stared at her friend.  
"What's the matter?" Lisa asked worriedly.   
"You've got a letter!" Mandy exclaimed. "And the owl left his droppings in my hair," she added bitterly. Lisa was completely puzzled. It was not usual to have a letter this early in the morning; in fact, she had never received a letter at seven o'clock.  
"Sorry about the owl," Lisa said, picked up the letter on the floor, and opened it. Amazingly enough, none of the other girls in the Ravenclaw dormitory were awake yet, so Lisa had some peace and quiet to herself before they rose. She read the letter to herself.  
Dear Lisa,  
How are you? How is school? Not too much work, I hope. Are you coming home for the winter holidays? Your father and I would like to have you home, as your grandparents are coming to our house. …  
The letter went on, rambling about housework and about the latest news about Lisa's neighbors. Of course, that was her mother's way of having fun. Lisa sighed, closed the letter, and put it back in the envelope. She would respond to it another time, but right now, she needed to get dressed. Pulling her robes over her head and combing her hair, she looked at herself in the mirror. An auburn haired, hazel-eyed girl with thin lips stared back at her. It was not that Lisa was unhappy about her appearance, but she knew she wanted to change it. An exasperated call from Mandy made Lisa turn around. Mandy was facing her with her hands on her hips.  
"Honestly, Lisa, you've got to stop spacing out," Mandy said pointedly, but Lisa knew she was not angry. Grabbing her book bag and hat, Lisa ran down the stairs to the Ravenclaw common room, ran past everyone who was there, and opened the door to go to the Great Hall.  
  
There was some commotion in the Great Hall, but Lisa ignored the noise as she sat down at the Ravenclaw table next to Mandy. The food looked delicious; blueberry muffins, scrambled eggs, and bacon were on the table, giving off tantalizing odors. Lisa suppressed her ravenous appetite and daintily scooped some scrambled eggs onto her plate. Mandy picked a plump blueberry muffin, and poured herself some orange juice.  
"Lisa, I think lover boy's looking at you," Mandy whispered, making Lisa blush. Mandy, being Lisa's closest friend, knew about Lisa's crush on Seamus, and teased her constantly. Lisa looked up to the Gryffindor table. Immediately she spotted Seamus, and their eyes met for a brief instant, which sent shivers down Lisa's spine. He looked at me…I can't believe it, Lisa thought happily, but unfortunately, Dumbledore had to stand up to announce something.   
"May I have your attention," Dumbledore said, making Seamus turn his head to look at the headmaster. Lisa sighed, and turned her head to place her dreamy eyes on Albus Dumbledore.  
"What now?" she breathed. Dumbledore looked grave, and there was no twinkle in his eye. Everyone in the Great Hall now turned his or her attention to Dumbledore.  
"As of recently, I have read many newspapers which have informed me that there is an evil barrette loose. The barrette is responsible for pulling pranks on innocent people, but the pranks are not humorous. In fact, several wizards and witches have been seriously injured, and a smaller few have lost their lives to this malicious barrette," Dumbledore explained. "I am warning each and every one of you to be on your guard, and to look out for this barrette. The barrette is red and…" Dumbledore paused, and Lisa could see he was trying not to laugh. "Fluffy. A good thing to look for is the trail of hairspray it leaves. Now that all of you have been told of this lurking evil, we may continue eating." Dumbledore sat down and pulled in his chair, and conversation started again. Lisa almost burst out in giggles. A red fluffy barrette? What kind of an evil thing was that? Lisa took a forkful of scrambled eggs and thrust the food into her mouth. Mandy looked thoughtful, which was a first for her.   
"You know, this evil barrette has made me think of something," Mandy said.  
"What? It's almost funny if you think about it," Lisa replied.   
"It's almost as if someone made it up spontaneously to challenge an author," Mandy mused, given this new knowledge by someone above. (Hi! ::the author waves::)   
"Possibly," Lisa muttered, but her attention was back on Seamus. The sandy haired boy was eating pieces of his blueberry muffins, looking rather cute as he did so.  
"But what if this whole thing is a story? What if we are controlled by someone we don't even know?" Mandy panicked. "What if the author who is writing the story is making me a flake so that she can kill me off easily?"  
"Don't be silly, Mandy, the author's not going to do that," Lisa retorted. "That's ridiculous."  
"But what if it's true? I can't even bear to think about it," Mandy said frantically. "What if the author's goal is to make both of us eat fruitcakes? We'd simply have to do it!"  
"But…I don't like fruitcakes," Lisa replied. "Your whole idea is nonsensical."  
"Fine, you don't believe me," Mandy sighed. "I'll have to go on living knowing the truth."  
"Yeah. I wonder if he notices me," Lisa said, her mind back on Seamus.  
"I doubt it. The reason being why he doesn't notice you is because you are a Ravenclaw, he's a Gryffindor, and he's got Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil to look at," Mandy explained. Lisa dropped her fork, looking horrified. Then she burst into tears. Mandy looked at her friend, shocked. Apparently she had hit a weak spot.  
"I know, it's true," Lisa sobbed. "I don't even have enough courage to speak to him. Oh, Mandy, what do I do?" People were turning in Lisa's direction because she was sobbing so loudly.   
"Hush, Lisa. People are starting to look," Mandy whispered. "You need to build up the courage to speak to him and smash this ruddy crush of yours. You don't have anything to lose."  
"Except my heart," Lisa sniffed, her tears dwindling.   
"Your heart would keep on pumping, believe me," Mandy said. "It's so odd that people say all your feelings are in your heart when that's not true. Your heart does no thinking at all. It's all in your brain. Of course, it always could be a figure of speech."  
"That's what it is," Lisa said, annoyed.  
"I know, but whatever made people say that love comes from your heart?" Mandy wondered. "It's just very strange."  
"Mandy, you are starting to get on my nerves," Lisa warned. "I'm going to go up to Seamus after breakfast and strike up a conversation." Mandy grinned warmly.   
"Good for you, Lisa girl," Mandy cheered. Lisa couldn't help it. She smiled too.  
  
Breakfast seemed to go faster after that, and Lisa gathered up more and more courage. Her heart was pumping faster, and her stomach seemed to be twisting into dreadful knots. Then, finally, breakfast was over and Lisa walked nervously to the doorway. She didn't see Seamus yet, so she would have to walk ahead a bit. When she stepped into the hallway, she saw her crush talking rapidly with Dean Thomas, his tall Gryffindor friend. Lisa ran delicately until she was almost directly behind him. Dean cast a furtive glance behind him, saw Lisa, and smiled at her. Lisa, shocked, didn't know how to respond, so she smiled weakly at him. Dean then turned back to talk to his friend Seamus.  
"Er, Seamus, I have to go," Dean muttered.  
"Where? I'll go with you," Seamus asked, a bewildered look growing on his face.  
"There's no need. I just want to get something from our dorm," Dean said. "I'll see you in Herbology." Seamus nodded, and grinned slightly.  
"All right then, go ahead," Seamus replied. Dean chuckled.  
"By the way, I think there's someone who wants to talk to you," Dean remarked, pointing behind him. Seamus appeared confused as Dean ran to the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. As soon as Dean was gone, Seamus sighed, readjusted his bag farther up his shoulder, and then noticed Lisa behind him. Lisa tried not to blush, or to let her stomach tie up in awful knots.  
"Hi," Lisa said quietly. Seamus smiled good naturally.  
"Hello," he replied, and Lisa's heart fluttered.   
"Er, I--" Lisa tried to say, but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth.  
"You wanted to talk to me?" Seamus asked curiously. Lisa nodded, but then she gasped in horror as she saw what was in front of them. A red, fluffy, large barrette. Seamus looked in front of them and saw the barrette too, looking shocked.  
"The barrette," Lisa whispered, and pulled out her wand, as did Seamus.   
"Impedimentia!" Seamus called, waving his wand quickly. The spell missed the barrette, but that seemed to anger it because it squirted out a mist of hair spray angrily. Strangely enough, Lisa could hear the barrette hissing. Lisa racked her brain for a good spell she could use on the barrette. As she was thinking, the barrette flew towards her and pushed her down. Lisa gasped, and got up to her feet again, smarting. Seamus smacked the barrette on something that appeared to be the barrette's torso. The blow enraged the barrette, making red puffs of smoke billow from the top of its fluffy "head," and so it acted quickly. With a quick, powerful jab, the barrette thrust itself at Seamus. It missed, luckily, because Seamus dodged, but the person behind him was not as fortunate. A groan escaped from the student, and he fell, dead, with blood gushing out his stomach. Lisa's head was spinning, and she tried to make sense of the scene. A person was dead. Gregory Goyle was dead.   
"AAARGH!" Vincent Crabbe yelled, and threw himself on the barrette. Since Crabbe was so heavy, the barrette fell on the floor with Crabbe on top. Crabbe punched the barrette again and again with his knobbly fists. He was avenging his beloved Goyle's death. His punches had a great effect on the barrette, making it weaker, but that didn't stop it from stabbing Crabbe as well. Crabbe fell to the floor with a pained look on his face. Lisa shivered. Both Crabbe and Goyle were dead, which left Draco Malfoy standing, shocked but still looking arrogant. Seamus tried yet another spell ("Stupefy!") on the barrette to no avail. The red, large, and fluffy barrette seemed to be invincible! Lisa didn't know what to do, but Malfoy did. With a crude smirk on his face, Draco lifted his wand quickly.  
"Avada Kedavra," Draco shrieked, and a green beam of light spurted out of his wand. How Draco had the power to issue such a curse was beyond Lisa. The killing curse raced toward the barrette, but it missed the fluffy evil by two inches. Draco swore. Lisa could see Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger rush down the hall, trying to find the source of the commotion. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape were not far behind. The barrette wanted to continue its killing spree, so it decided to attack the nearest person near it. That person just happened to be Lisa. Lisa, being desparate, had to think of a spell, any spell, to say and fast.  
"Reducio," Lisa said, and a red light flew out from her wand, hit the barrette, who twirled around and became smaller. But it was still there, and just as evil and angry as before. It charged at Lisa, aiming straight for her stomach. Lisa guessed it was the end. The barrette was coming closer…Lisa shut her eyes, awaiting her doom…she could feel the barrette rushing toward her, and expected pain to ensue at any moment…SPLUSH. Lisa did not feel anything, but heard a low groan coming directly in front of her. She opened her eyes to see her savior, and gasped. Seamus Finnigan was standing with the barrette lodged within his stomach. He had intercepted the barrette's blow, and took it for himself. It was the nicest thing anyone had done for her. Unfortunately, that someone was bleeding to death.  
"No! Seamus!" Lisa cried as Seamus dropped to the floor. His face was growing paler by the second, and Lisa suspected that it wouldn't be much longer until he lost his life. It was too awful to imagine. Lisa screamed and dragged Seamus so that he was leaning against her.  
"Eurgh," Seamus groaned, making Lisa become frantic. She reached for the barrette, pulled it out of his body, and stared at it. The barrette's red color camoflauged the blood from Seamus's body, so it didn't look different. Lisa hated it for every evil thing it had done. With all her might, she wished it were destroyed, half-hoping that the barrette would vanish. A dazzling white light blinded her eyes, making her blink several times, but when her vision restored, the barrette was gone. Lisa gasped. How on earth did it go away? She couldn't even comprehend why.  
"Stupid barrette," Lisa muttered. The barrette had come, killed two people (even though they were not the nicest people in the world), and left just as abruptly as it had come. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she was not aware of the fact that Seamus had stood.  
"Nicely done, Lisa," a voice said, jerking Lisa out of her thought bubble and making her get to her feet. Albus Dumbledore was standing there, his eyes twinkling but his voice emotionless.  
"But…h-how did I--?" Lisa drifted off, shocked. Dumbledore was thoughtful for a moment, but then he stared at her again.  
"I believe, Ms. Turpin, that you destroyed the barrette with something that it could not understand," Dumbledore explained. "In fact, it may be the same emotion that Voldemort himself cannot fathom. Love. Love is a very powerful feeling, which even the darkest power cannot avoid." Lisa cringed at the Dark Lord's name, but listened attentively. Dumbledore smiled, which made Lisa feel better. His smile, however, could not remove the shock that had embedded itself in Lisa.  
"Two people are dead though!" Lisa wailed. "It's all my fault!"  
"Of course it's not," Dumbledore replied. "You didn't know that the barrette would kill anyone, did you?" Lisa shook her head. "You did not summon it either, so it is not your fault." Dumbledore's eyes were empty and solemn as he glanced at Goyle and Crabbe's bodies. "It is unfortunate that two students had to be killed. I must reinforce Hogwarts' security as a result of this. The parents won't like this at all, I'm afraid," Dumbledore added. Lisa looked behind Dumbledore, and saw that twenty students or so had formed a crowd, looking fearful yet relieved. It's a good thing Seamus didn't see this, Lisa thought stupidly. Then she thought again. Seamus did see it! In fact, he could be already dead! Lisa looked at the floor where Seamus used to be, but found, to her horror, that he wasn't there. Had Seamus moved to a corner, and died there? Dumbledore then walked away, engrossed in thought, and the students hurried off to their classes, as the bell still hadn't rung yet. Lisa began to cry. She let him die…Seamus, of all people! Lisa would never be able to forgive herself--  
"Don't cry," a boy's voice said. Lisa stopped sniffling, saw who it was, and nearly fainted.  
"Seamus! What on earth? I thought you were dead," Lisa said quietly. Seamus was still quite pale, but he was living and breathing, which mattered.  
"I thought I was too," Seamus replied. "But when you destroyed the barrette, the gash in my stomach disappeared, as if I had never been hurt…" Seamus drifted off, but stared at Lisa. "You saved my life," he added solemnly.  
"I had to," Lisa said. "I didn't want to see you die." Seamus looked confused, but then smiled gratefully.  
"Thanks," Seamus said, and Lisa smiled. She opened her mouth to say "You're welcome," but Seamus pulled her close to him for a earth-shattering kiss. My life is shaping up well, Lisa thought happily, and when they broke apart, Lisa took Seamus's hand. Then Seamus and Lisa walked hand in hand to their Herbology lesson, thinking of nothing but each other.   
  
Crabbe opened his eyes slowly, groaning. What had happened? Oh, I died, Crabbe thought, and rubbed his eyes, yawning widely. Then he saw Goyle waking as well.  
"Gregory!" Crabbe exclaimed. Goyle just looked confused.'  
"Hi, Vincent," Goyle said, staring at Crabbe, petrified. What drug was Crabbe taking today, Goyle wondered. Crabbe took a drug every single day. Of course, that may be the reason why Crabbe had "strange" feelings for Goyle.  
"This drug works good," Crabbe said. "Ectasy is the best." No it wasn't! Crabbe did not realize that Ectasy was eventually going to destroy him. Drugs are a no-no, folks.  
"Did you see that huge barrette?" Goyle asked.  
"Yeah," Crabbe answered. "It killed me."  
"Me too," Goyle said. "Duh, we'd better find Draco." The two goons skipped off happily to find their master, Draco. Draco had run away to the Slytherin dormitory to write the day's events (and his secret passion for cheesecake) in his journal, but I'll leave that for another story.  
  
The End  
  



End file.
